Most organizations answer this question once, at the wrong altitude, and then spend the next decade paying for it. The question gets asked as a company-wide setting: are we centralized or decentralized? That framing guarantees a bad answer. No organization is one or the other. Every organization centralizes some decisions and distributes others, and the […]
Most companies do not have an operating model. They have an org chart and a set of habits. An org chart shows reporting lines. An operating model answers a harder question: How does this organization convert strategy into repeated decisions? That distinction matters, because strategy failure is rarely a thinking failure. It is almost always […]
In 1960, a group of French writers and mathematicians started something unusual. They called it Oulipo—short for Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, or “Workshop of Potential Literature.” Their premise was simple: Constraints create creativity. Most people assume the opposite. They believe creativity comes from freedom. Give people unlimited options, unlimited resources, unlimited possibilities, and great things […]
In today’s fast-moving business landscape, companies must constantly evolve to stay competitive. Growth opportunities, digital transformation, and operational efficiency often hinge not just on strategy, but on how a business is structured to deliver that strategy. This is where the Target Operating Model (TOM) comes in. A TOM is more than a blueprint—it’s the bridge […]
The Difference Most Leaders Think They Understand — But Don’t Interesting times we live in. AI is accelerating decisions. Markets are shifting faster than planning cycles. Organizations are expected to move with both precision and speed. And yet, many leaders still blur three foundational concepts: Strategy Business Model Operating Model They are not interchangeable.They are […]
Introduction Most strategies don’t fail because they’re wrong. They fail because they never become reality. That gap between ambition and execution is where the operating model lives. An operating model defines how a company actually runs—how decisions are made, how teams are structured, how work flows, and how value is delivered to customers. If strategy […]
What is ethos? Ethos is a concept from rhetoric that refers to credibility or character. More specifically, it is how trustworthy, grounded, and authoritative someone appears when they speak, write, lead, or act. Over the years, I found myself thinking more and more about ethos not just as a communication principle, but as an operating […]
Most leaders don’t fail because they lack effort or intelligence. They fail because they operate within the wrong model. An operating model is not a strategy. It is the system beneath the strategy—the way decisions are made, resources are allocated, and work actually gets done at scale. It defines how a company behaves when no […]
Welcome to the jungle Let’s start with a natural system. Enter a forest for example. It is comprised of many plant species that can thrive at different levels: trees, shrubs, heather, grass, moss, etc. Within each layer, there are types of plants that like: more or less light, more or less water. And each plant […]
Listen to the universe Listen! Your world is likely speaking to you daily. The daily obstacles you and your team face are the treasure trove of opportunities needed to streamline your operations improve your team culture. Indeed, the obstacles are the path, and distilling sustainable solutions out of them is the name of the game. […]